With the Keystone Room out of commission, The Innovation Center is being used for many events.
Photo Credit / Mitch Williams

With the Keystone Room out of commission, The Innovation Center is being used for many events.Photo Credit / Mitch Williams

Madison PetroStaff Writer

East Stroudsburg University’s Alumni Association spoke about upcoming campus changes and events at their board of directors meeting last Saturday at the Innovation Center.

ESU President Marcia Welsh informed the board about Saturday’s admissions event and sporting events, along with other activities like the University Dance Company’s spring show and the theater department’s play “For Colored Girls…” “It’s a pretty busy weekend, which is typical of the week before finals,” said Welsh.

The Panic! At The Disco concert took place last Thursday in the Mattioli Recreation Center, where the only issue was one young girl having an asthma attack.

This year’s Community on the Quad will be held this Saturday, the same day as the first freshmen orientation.

The incoming freshmen class will be larger as enrollment is increasing for the next academic year. Having a large freshman class once again brings up the issue of housing.

“We are trying to push through for another suite style hall,” said Welsh.

Welsh explained that the traditional dorms still look the same as when the alumni lived in them. Welsh said that the dorms need to be renovated, and Lenape or Shawnee will be the first one taken down in fall of 2017.

The University also has plans to renovate Lower Dansbury in the near future, turning it into a Starbucks and expanding the space for a new meeting room.

Yet, as a new group of students joins ESU, another group will leave, with undergraduate commencement taking place May 7.

ESU Foundation’s Director of Annual Giving and Special Campaigns, Lori Gilio, was the guest speaker at the meeting, and she spoke about the annual fund.

The annual fund provides scholarships and grants for students and faculty members each year. As the fund reaches its 30th year in 2016, it will be renamed the “Warrior fund” in the hopes to generate more interest towards it.

This renaming of the annual fund to the Warrior fund sparked a conversation about ESU’s current mascot, Burgy.

The board agreed that Burgy does not bring as much school pride as calling oneself a Warrior does.

“Students told me ‘we can’t even explain what he is,’” said Welsh about their lack of surprise to Burgy losing a mascot competition. “He won’t last long, but ‘Warriors’ will.”

Leon John, Jr., ESU’s director of alumni engagement, announced that the Homecoming 2016 will have ‘carnival’ as a theme.

“There will be a Ferris wheel,” said John. “Hopefully.”

John also mentioned that the Homecoming football game’s time change to 7 p.m. is because it will be nationally televised.

At the mention of the football game, a few board members complained about how rusty the bleachers are.

Welsh said that they would need to be sandblasted, but it would be costly in more than just price.

“The bleachers are made with lead,” said Welsh, “so sandblasting would have an environmental impact. Plus, we would have to do it again every few years.”

According to Welsh, ESU is looking into cost estimates for adding cushions with backrests to the current bleachers or replacing the bleachers with new ones. She also said the back of the bleachers will be covered with large pictures of students by Homecoming.

The next Alumni Association Board of Directors meeting will be June 24.